Interesting and useful websites, online resources, and search hints from the Library Information Service of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library.

EBRPL Cool

It’s that time of year again! The 87th Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 22, at 6 p.m. on ABC. Check out the official website for all things Oscar: backstage videos, red carpet galleries, Oscar music moments, and more. Here’s a printable list of the nominees from Fandango or try this interactive Oscar ballot from CNN. And don’t miss the official site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the governing body behind the Awards) for the history behind Hollywood’s most legendary night.

Join us next Tuesday, February 24, at 7 p.m. at the Main Library at Goodwood for a special meeting of the RENEW Book Club. Formerly called the Compassionate Book Club, our new name is the RENEW Book Club, which stands for Reading Engaging Nonfiction to Expand our Worldview and this month’s title, The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society by renowned scientist Frans de Waal, does just that. Dr. de Waal is a Dutch primatologist and ethnologist, currently serving as the C. H. Handler professor of Primate Behavior at Emory University, and he will be joining us for a Skype Q&A session during the book club meeting! We hope to see you next Tuesday for this special event.

Want to start the new year off right by learning something new? We’ve got you covered! A great recent addition to our Digital Library is Pronunciator, a language learning database, featuring 80 language courses, along with English as a Second Language courses and tools. You can access it with your library card from any computer or download the mobile app for iOS or Android and use it on the go! Pronunciator has a wide variety of language learning exercises including quizzes, music, radio, and movies. You can take self-paced courses or sign up for structured 8-week courses. Check it out on our Digital Library page today!

Visit the Main Library at Goodwood this Saturday, January 24, to celebrate National Readathon Day! It’s a marathon reading session from noon to 4 p.m. Join readers across America in making time to read that afternoon. Four straight hours is a lot of reading so this could be your opportunity to finally tackle that challenging longer book that’s been sitting on your newsstand. Or maybe you want to bring a whole pile of books, and read a bit from each. We will have loads of books on hand for you to read here too — we are the library after all! Refreshments will be served.

The focus of the event is to celebrate reading and literacy and to raise money for the National Book Foundation (a 501c3 nonprofit). All donations will support the National Book Foundation’s nonprofit work to promote literature and reading in America. *Donations are not required to participate in this Library event though.

Khaled Hosseini plans to read The Children Act by Ian McEwan, novelist Emma Straub plans to read Evelyn Waugh as well as some Babar, and the National Book Foundation’s Executive Director Harold Augenbraum plans to read the Lemony Snicket series. Share your photos and experiences during the Readathon and tell us what you’re reading on social media using the hashtags #timetoread and #ebrpl. See you Saturday!

Top Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg made a splash and started a movement with the publication of her bestselling business book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. We’re taking a page out of her book and hosting a “Lean In” discussion panel at the Main Library at Goodwood at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, January 14.

The panel will feature a group of female leaders who will give their own interpretation of “leaning in” and give insight into their experiences as women in business. The discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience. Refreshments will be served.